How unusual! Homicide detective also a devoted single mom

Finally, we get a TV show that shows a woman giving her best to a tough job – in homicide, no less — while also tending to responsibilities at home that go beyond just a dog or cat.

In “The Protector,” premiering at 9 tonight on Lifetime, likable Ally Walker (“Profiler,” “Tell Me that You Love Me”) portrays Gloria Sheppard, who’s not only a highly intuitive police detective but also a divorced mom of two boys.

Yes, she may throw her all into nabbing criminals, but she also stays up late putting together a neat costume for one of her kids, comforts her troubled brother and helps a neighbor recover a missing garden gnome.

It’s refreshing to see a TV career woman who isn’t a screw-up at home. Another plus: The series is lightened up now and then with humor. A fun sequence in the pilot has Walker’s character trying out a new espresso machine during a sleepless night and acting hilariously jumpy when the rest of the household awakens.